Brazil’s corrupt politicians are zombies fooling Brazilians over and over, says The Economist

Despite serial corruption allegations, the old guard of corrupt politicians just keeps coming back. And Brazilians seem to have just been taken for fools.

Here’s from a recent “The Economist” article:

“Mr Calheiros is the latest example of a well-established Brazilian phenomenon: the politician who can survive any number of seemingly killer blows. Paulo Maluf, found guilty of overbilling and taking kickbacks in the 1990s as São Paulo’s mayor, is so notorious that malufar has entered the Portuguese language, meaning “to steal from public funds”. He was elected to Congress in 2006 and is still there. José Genoino and Francisco Tenório, respectively found guilty of bribery (in the mensalão) and under investigation for murder, have just replaced congressmen who stepped down to become mayors. In total, a third of Brazil’s lawmakers have either been convicted or are being investigated for crimes ranging from vote-buying to theft to slave-holding.

Many Brazilians are perfectly happy to vote for such people…

Brazilians still have hope that the political zombies can be laid to rest.”

10 Responses to Brazil’s corrupt politicians are zombies fooling Brazilians over and over, says The Economist

Sound about right this has only been going on in Brazil for the last 500 years so why would it change now, its just part of the culture, most Brazilians probably just think why hang someone for crime that they would have done if they were in the same position,

A discontent public who protest in the streets are not present in this country, instead is very visible the public presence in the carnaval party.
Some Brazilians are so stupid even those who complain about robbery or larceny are usually the same scum who buy stolen goods from the thieves.

My father-in-law told me of the times Paolo Maluf elected himself Mayor of Sao Paulo. He would hold rallies and distribute shoes to the people for free. That is, only one of a pair for each…Then he would say: if I get elected you get the other one.
Cute…
And while I was there, I still encountered many supporters even amongst the allegedly educated people, holding degrees etc..
That country is so F§$%&ng unbelievable.
And still they tell you smilingly in your face that Brazil is the best country to live in..
Go figure.

I know a civil servant earning about BRL 14.000 monthly and works effectively 2 hours per day. The remaining time is used to select and plan vacations. On top of this, his department has several similar job openings which will be filled within a few months. The tests are planned for end February / beginning of March.

Waisting tax payers’ money is one of the biggest problems in Brasil. It should be considered a crime.